South Carolina Republicans resolved a statewide fight over their United States Senate nomination on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, when a special primary runoff gave Senator Darline Graham a narrow lead over Representative Ralph Norman in unofficial returns posted by the State Election Commission, and the State Board of Canvassers is scheduled to meet on Friday, August 28, 2026, to certify the result.
The commission reporting system showed Graham with 193,396 votes, or 52.45 percent, and Norman with 175,327 votes, or 47.55 percent, out of 368,723 votes cast in the contest. All 46 counties and all 2,311 precincts were reporting, and the totals were last refreshed at 7:56 p.m. on election night. Statewide turnout reached 12.23 percent, with 369,014 ballots cast by an electorate of 3,018,371 registered voters. The commission labels those figures unofficial until canvassers act.
How the runoff came about
The runoff closed a compressed nominating process created by the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who had been the Republican nominee for the seat this year. Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham, the sister of the late senator and the former commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, to the vacancy on July 13, 2026, acting under Section 7-19-20 of the state code, which lets the governor fill a Senate vacancy by appointment until a successor is elected. She took the oath of office the next day, July 14, 2026, becoming the first woman to represent the state in the Senate, and the appointment runs only until January 3, 2027, when the next Congress convenes.
Because the party nominee had died with general election opposition already set, the commission opened a special Republican filing period and primary under Section 7-11-55 of the state code. Filing ran from noon on July 21 to noon on July 28, 2026, and was limited to Republican candidates. Ten names appeared on the August 11 special primary ballot. Certified results show Darline Graham first with 109,881 votes, or 32.75 percent, and Norman second with 82,627 votes, or 24.62 percent, followed by Representative Russell Fry with 65,955 votes, Mark Sanford with 50,136 votes and Mark Lynch with 19,892 votes. Danny Ford II, Duke Buckner, Glenda Gail Parker, Samuel Sam Shepherd and Mark McBride together drew fewer than 7,100 votes. With 335,555 votes cast and no candidate above 50 percent, the top two advanced.
Early voting for the runoff ran Wednesday, August 19, through Friday, August 21, 2026, at centers open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Commission guidance limited participation: voters who took part in the June Democratic primary were barred from the Republican runoff, while those who voted in the June Republican primary or in the August 11 special primary remained eligible. Absentee applications were due by 5 p.m. on Friday, August 14, and voted absentee and military or overseas ballots had to reach county election offices by 7 p.m. on election day.
A presidential endorsement inside the contest
The endorsement of the President ran through the entire runoff. The official campaign site of Darline Graham presents her candidacy as carrying the full endorsement of President Donald J. Trump for the South Carolina Senate seat, alongside her appointment by the governor, and it closed with a direct appeal to voters to make a plan and turn out on August 25. The White House posted a release on Friday, August 21, 2026, saying the President was returning to South Carolina that day to promote the record of his administration in the state, including tax changes for working families, border enforcement and private investment; that release did not name the Senate contest.
Norman built his campaign on the same national alignment rather than against it. His official site described him as a proven conservative who would stand with the President and put America first, cast the race as a choice between fighters and officials who fold under pressure, and listed faith, family and freedom as his organizing principles.
The policy identity Graham offered voters came from her state service. Her campaign site emphasized nearly three decades of public administration, protection of taxpayer money, and work helping South Carolinians with disabilities find employment, live independently and keep their vision, including vocational rehabilitation and blindness prevention programs.
What the campaign filings showed
Federal Election Commission records for the pre-primary period point to two very different operations. The committee organized for the Graham campaign reported total receipts of 346,782 dollars and 64 cents and disbursements of 95,351 dollars and 36 cents for a coverage period running from July 23 to August 5, 2026, with nearly all of the money arriving as individual contributions. The Norman committee reported total receipts of 934,891 dollars and 94 cents across a longer coverage period from July 1 to August 5, 2026, disbursements of 697,552 dollars and 99 cents, and ending cash of 237,338 dollars and 95 cents. That total included a 400,000 dollar loan from the candidate, and the committee reported the same amount as debt owed.
Certification, audits and the November ballot
Before certification, county election offices conduct hand-count audits of randomly selected early voting centers and precincts chosen by the commission audit division, and the commission has published the selected locations for this runoff, directing voters to county offices for audit times. The State Board of Canvassers meeting for certification is set for Friday, August 28, 2026, with the time to be announced, at the commission offices at 1122 Lady Street in Columbia.
Certification carries a practical consequence beyond bragging rights. Commission notices state that the nominee produced by the special filing and primary process takes the Republican line for United States Senate on the general election ballot on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The South Carolina Democratic Party lists Annie Andrews as its Senate candidate on its official slate for this cycle. Whoever wins in November takes office when the new Congress convenes in January 2027, which is also when the interim appointment ends.
